As cellular communication services have become increasingly available and common, traditional methods of receiving payment for cellular services have been found lacking. Commonly, services are rendered to a customer and at the end of a set period, a bill is sent to the customer for the services rendered during that period. This essentially amounts to extending credit to the customer. For traditional, residential telephone customers, service can easily be terminated for non-payment of such bills because the offender is easily identified and is in a fixed location. Cellular communication customers, however, have been able to evade payment of such bills by seeking service from a new provider when prior service has been terminated. The cycle can continue in this fashion, with each successive provider losing money to such customers.
Prepayment for cellular services is being widely embraced as a solution to this problem. Using this system, a customer provides money to a service provider in advance of the rendering of communication services. Service charges are then deducted from the customer""s balance until the prepayment is depleted. Unlike many services, though, the costs of telephone communication are often a complex conglomeration of fees based on a wide array of factors, such as connection charges, surcharges, taxes, and other charges. Furthermore, many of these factors can vary widely, even during a single connection, based on conditions such as the time of day, the locations of the calling parties, volume discounts, and other variables. For example, a cellular communication device may move from one calling area to another resulting in a substantial change in the rate. Such factors make determining the quantity of service available for a fixed, prepaid amount a complex endeavor.
One solution currently in use is to determine, on a minute-by-minute basis, the accumulated service charge and compare this amount to the amount of prepayment as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,067, incorporated herein by reference. This technique, however, requires a considerable amount of processing support for the repeated calculations, because once each minute, the cost of the previous minute must be calculated, deducted from the available balance. Furthermore, the depletion of the balance must be monitored in order to notify the caller when the call will be terminated. A method for reducing the processing necessary to meter service would greatly reduce the costs associated with providing communication services to prepaid callers.
The systems and methods described herein may be used to meter communications services under a prepayment plan, for example, by determining, upon initiation of a communication event, a duration for that event for which the cost will be approximately equal to a prepaid balance. In this way, services can be terminated at the end of the duration, thereby preventing charges in excess of the prepaid balance without requiring repeated calculations during the communication event.
In one aspect, the systems and methods described herein relate to a process for metering a communication event by identifying an initiation of a communication event, identifying an account balance associated with the communication event, determining a duration of the communication event for which an accrued cost of the communication event is approximately equal to the account balance.
A signal for identifying an initiation of a communication event may include information representative of the identity of the user initiating the communication event, such as the originating phone number, an automated number identification code (ANI), equipment identification number (EIN), or mobile identification number (MIN), the time at which the event was initiated, the location from which the event was initiated, the recipient of the event, such as a dialed number identification system code (DNIS), the location of the recipient of the event, the distance between the user and the recipient, the service provider handling the event, or any other information. Such information may be used to identify an associated account balance, or an additional input, such as a calling card number or coupon number may be received. An account balance, as the term is used herein, refers to a prepaid amount of money which may be applied to defray the cost of a communication event.
In one practice, determining a duration includes identifying, upon initiation of the communication event, a rate schedule for the communication event. A rate schedule, as the term is used herein, refers to an aggregate charge representative of the total cost of a communication event, and may include fixed amounts, rates per unit time, or any other type of fee. In one practice, identifying a rate schedule includes determining a connection charge rate and a tax charge rate. In certain practices, identifying a rate schedule further includes determining a factor selected from available free time, endpoints of the communication event, distance of the communication event, and time of day. In one practice, identifying a rate schedule for the communication event includes determining a cost per second rate.
In one practice, the process includes terminating the communication event at the end of the determined duration. In another practice, the process includes deducting a cost of the communication event from the available balance upon termination of the communication event.
In one practice, identifying an initiation of a communication event includes identifying an initiation of a telephone call, such as a cellular telephone call. In certain practices, identifying an account balance includes an act selected from receiving an account code from a user, receiving an account code from a recipient, identifying a device receiving the communication event, and identifying a device initiating the communication event.
The systems and methods described herein also provide a system for metering a communication event, including a communication interface to receive information representative of initiation of a communication event, a database coupled to the communication interface to store information associated with a plurality of accounts, and a processor coupled to the database to identify an account balance associated with the communication event and to determine a duration of the communication event for which an accrued cost of the communication event is approximately equal to the account balance.
In one embodiment, the processor includes a rate mechanism to determine a duration, upon initiation of the event by identifying and employing a rate schedule for the communication event. A rate mechanism may be any calculation or strategy for determining the rate schedule or aggregate charge on the basis of a plurality of individual charges, which may include fixed fees, rate-per-time charges, or other fees. In one embodiment, the rate mechanism includes means for identifying a rate schedule by determining at least a connection charge rate and a tax charge rate. In certain embodiments, the rate mechanism further includes means for determining at least one factor selected from available free time, endpoints of the communication event, distance of the communication event, and time of day. In one embodiment, the rate schedule for the communication event includes a cost per second rate.
In certain embodiments, the system further comprises a transmitter to send a signal for terminating the communication event at the end of the determined duration. In certain embodiments, the communication event is a telephone call. In one embodiment, the telephone call is initiated by a cellular telephone.
In certain embodiments, the processor includes means for identifying an account balance by a method selected from receiving an account code from a user, receiving an account code from a recipient, identifying a device initiating the communication event, and identifying a device receiving the communication event.
In yet another embodiment, the systems and methods disclosed herein relate to a system for regulating prepayment for a mobile communication event, including a first database to store information representative of rate plans for a plurality of communication service providers, a second database to store information associated with a plurality of accounts, a communication interface to receive information representative of initiation of a communication event, a processor coupled to the first database, the second database, and the communication interface to identify an account balance associated with the communication event and to determine, upon initiation of the communication event, a duration of the communication event for which an accrued cost of the communication event is approximately equal to the account balance.
In certain embodiments, the rate plans include cost per second rates. In one embodiment, the processor includes a rate mechanism to determine a duration upon initiation of the event by identifying and employing a rate schedule for the communication event. In one such embodiment, the rate mechanism includes means for identifying a rate schedule by determining at least a connection charge rate and a tax charge rate. In certain embodiments, the rate mechanism further includes means for identifying a rate schedule by determining at least one factor selected from available free time, endpoints of the communication event, distance of the communication event, and time of day.
In certain embodiments, the system further includes a transmitter to send a signal for terminating the communication event at the end of the determined duration. In certain embodiments, the communication event is a telephone call. In one embodiment, the telephone call is initiated by a cellular telephone.
In certain embodiments, the processor includes means for identifying an account balance associated with the user. In certain embodiments, the processor includes means for identifying an account balance associated with the recipient.
In another practice, the systems and methods described herein provide a method for regulating prepayment for a mobile communication event by storing information representative of rate plans for a plurality of communication service providers, storing information associated with a plurality of user accounts, identifying an initiation of a communication event, identifying an account balance associated with the communication event, and determining, upon initiation of the communication event, a duration of the communication event for which an accrued cost of the communication event is approximately equal to the account balance, as a function of the service provider handling the communication event.
In certain embodiments, storing information representative of rate plans includes storing cost per second rates.
In certain embodiments, the method further includes identifying a transfer of service from a first service provider to a second service provider, and determining a duration of the communication event for which an accrued cost of the communication event is approximately equal to the account balance, as a function of the second service provider handling the communication event.
In certain embodiments, determining a duration includes identifying, upon initiation of the communication event, a rate schedule for the communication event. In one embodiment, identifying a rate schedule includes determining a connection charge rate and a tax charge rate. In certain embodiments, identifying a rate schedule further includes determining a factor selected from available free time, endpoints of the communication event, distance of the communication event, and time of day.
In certain embodiments, the method includes terminating the communication event at the end of the determined duration. In other embodiments, the method includes comprising deducting a cost of the communication event from the available balance upon termination of the communication event.
In certain embodiments, identifying an initiation of a communication event includes identifying an initiation of a telephone call. In one embodiment, identifying an initiation of a communication event includes identifying an initiation of a cellular telephone call.
In certain embodiments, identifying an account balance includes an act selected from receiving an account code from a user, and identifying a device initiating the communication event.
In certain embodiments, identifying an account balance includes an act selected from receiving an account code from a recipient, and identifying a device receiving the communication event.